Announcing the 2012 Dueling Divas Blogathon!

It’s happening again! That’s right readers, it’s time for those sassy sparring ladies (or gentlemen, we’re all for gender equality here at Backlots) to get out their foils and do some serious dueling! The Dueling Divas Blogathon is back for its second year, and this time there is a twist.

The rules remain the same as last year. As a refresher, participants may blog about any of the following types of Dueling Divas:

Those who had a rivalry in real life, either over a particular film role or over a personality clash, ie Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

Those who had a rivalry on the screen, ie Mildred and Veda from Mildred Pierce

Any dual role played by an actor or actress in a classic film, ie Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap.

You can write about the divas themselves, compare their films, or if you are planning on covering an actor or actress in a dual role, you can compare and contrast the differences in the characters to give one example. There is really a very wide range of possibilities for this blogathon, and for those of you who haven’t participated yet it’s lots of fun!

Olivia de Havilland plays twins in “The Dark Mirror” (1946)

The Dueling Divas blogathon will be held between December 20 and 23, and you can submit any number of posts over those three days. To RSVP for the blogathon, simply comment on this post and I will add your name to the list of scheduled participants. You don’t have to tell me what you will submit and when just yet, but if you already have something in mind I would love to hear it! And don’t worry if you see someone writing about the same divas as you, as we all know there are some pairs who are massively popular and I don’t want to limit anyone’s creativity here!

Each blogger who submits a post will have his or her name put into a raffle. At the end of the blogathon on December 23, I will pick out a name from the raffle and the winner will have the choice between two prizes:

A) A DVD of the classic horror film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? starring two of our favorite dueling divas, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

B) A copy of the TCM book Leading Ladies, that profiles the biographies of seemingly endless classic film stars including some real dueling divas!

The winner will receive his or her prize within a week of the blogathon’s conclusion. This is Backlots’ first competition/raffle, and I am very happy to be able to do it!

So start thinking about which divas you would like to profile, and be sure to RSVP in the comments section of this post so I can add your name to the list of participants. To add the blogathon to the events section of your site, you can use the banner at the top of this post and let your own readers know it is happening. I do want to keep it traditionally classic (before the year 1968), but if someone really wants to profile a classic clash from a more modern film, I don’t want to discourage it. As I’ve said before, the definition of “classic film” is very wide and there are no set rules about what is or what isn’t considered classic, so if you would like to profile divas from a post-1968 movie that you consider to be a classic, go for it.

Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to see everyone’s posts in just about 6 weeks!

OK if I try again with one of your ‘thons? I would love to do Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone, literally dueling divas, in Captain Blood and Robin Hood. I could also mention his duels with Henry Daniell in Sea Hawk and Robert Douglas in Don Juan. Those are the 4 most famous for Flynn, the great dueling diva! What do you think?

Of course you may! Trivia bit: did you know that Lynn Bari was married to Sid Luft, who was then married to Judy Garland? So Lynn Bari’s son Johnny was Judy’s stepson. These old Hollywood folk are all interconnected somehow!

Yeah! My other favorite “Hollywood people are related” trivia fact is that Ann Rutherford and Olivia de Havilland were together in Gone With the Wind–Olivia’s sister Joan married William Dozier, and they had a daughter, Debbie, together. After they divorced, William Dozier married Ann Rutherford! So Olivia’s niece is Ann Rutherford’s stepdaughter. Crazy, right??

I would love to be a part of this, if I may. I think one of my entries will be on The Pride and The Passion (1957) with Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra . . . it would give me the perfect excuse to actually make time in my schedule to watch it (of course Cary alone is the perfect excuse to make time in my schedule).

You can contribute in any way you see fit! You could even do a photo retrospective of your favorite dueling divas so you won’t have to write with your wrist in a cast. I’ll put your name down just in case you decide to do something!

OH WOW, if you do Jeanne Crain and Gene Tierney in “Leave Her to Heaven,” I will be running around and jumping for joy. That is exactly what I’m aiming for with this blogathon, and those are some of my favorite dueling divas!

This is a dueling divas blogathon, all duels are welcome! If you want to do Suellen and Scarlett, Scarlett and Belle Watling, Suellen and Belle Watling (!), by all means go ahead! And remember you can have more than one entry. 🙂

You will have NO problem doing an entry on the de Havillands. Everything about them as a pair–onscreen or off– is perfect for an entry in this blogathon. As I write this I’m looking at my thank you card from Joan, framed on my bookshelf. 🙂

Backlots is devoted to honoring and celebrating all aspects of classic film and is written by Lara Gabrielle, a California-based classic film writer and historian. Lara is currently working on a full-length biography of Marion Davies, the first since 1972.

Here you will find pieces on frequently seen classics and some lesser-known gems, as well as book reviews, festival coverage, and pieces on the history, theory and culture of film as it relates to the study of classic cinema.
Enjoy the site, and thanks for reading!

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AFFILIATIONS & AWARDS

2019 CMBA Award for Best Profile of Classic Movie Performer or Filmmaker--"The Activism of Myrna Loy"

Winner of the 2018 CiMBA Award for Best Classic Movie Series, BACKLOTS AT THE COURTHOUSE: OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND VS. FX

Winner of the 2014 CiMBA Award for Best Profile of a Classic Movie Performer or Filmmaker: A Q&A WITH JOAN FONTAINE IN HONOR OF HER 96TH BIRTHDAY

Winner of the 2011 CiMBA Award for Best Classic Movie Discussion, THE FINAL SCENE OF THE HEIRESS

I am honored to be a judge of the Animal Film Festival in Grass Valley, CA.

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